Sultan of the O.T.S.S.

Sultan Abdulmecid I of the Ottoman Empire knew that his empire would never reach its former glory, unless something was done, no matter the consequences. The empire was stagnating, and had been for some time. His Tanzimat reforms had changed stagnation into progress. But the Ottoman Empire was still declining.

The Ottomans fell behind in technology. The Empire did not have the social structure of the Western European states, which was needed to introduce industrial technology. In any attempt to modernize or reform the Ottoman Empire, powerful military and religious elite would oppose the Sultan.

The Ottomans fell behind in economy. The Ottoman state was planned when the economy was agricultural. Public functions depended on public investments. As the world economy started to form, and economies of other nations evolved, the Ottomans stayed the same. Inns, hospitals, libraries... Lastly, Ottoman trade was lackluster. The Europeans didn't need to trade through the Ottomans with the East ever since the revolution in European shipping which started in the 16th century and had been ongoing.

The Ottomans fell behind in administration and politics. The second most powerful man in the Empire was the Grand Vizier. During turbulent times, Sultans would sacrifice their Grand Viziers to prevent civil war or coups. As one might imagine, this did not help stability at all. In addition, the Ulema was a very powerful faction in the government. The Ulema was a powerful religious elite, and if the Ulema was displeased with the Sultan, the Sultan would be overthrown. Lastly, the entire Ottoman Empire was based around the Sultan... and the Sultan rarely left his palace.

The Ottomans fell behind in military. The area that had always needed the most development was the military. Most Sultans realized this. The Janissaries however were the most averse group to change, and they were the most powerful group in the empire, until Mahmud II abolished them. Other problems existed however. To modernize the army, outsiders needed to be brought in. They were, but they were regarded with suspicion by the Empire's elite.

Lastly, as we all know, Greece split off from the Ottoman Empire in 1821, after a nasty war.

Abdulmecid would reform the empire, further than his prior Tanzimat reforms, despite any opposition he would get. He knew that he would cause great turmoil. Perhaps a civil war. Perhaps the Ulema would try to overthrow his rule. But he would resist the traditionalists, and transform the Ottoman Empire into one of the greatest empires on earth...


...But it wouldn't be an empire...
 
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Keenir

Banned
Sultan Abdulmecid I of the Ottoman Empire knew that his empire would never reach its former glory, unless something was done, no matter the consequences.

But he would resist the traditionalists, and transform the Ottoman Empire into one of the greatest empires on earth...


...But it wouldn't be an empire...

sign me up - I want to see what you have planned.
 
Abdulmecid listened to the public's complaints on reception days, which were usually every Friday (OOC: He actually did do this in OTL. He was the first emperor to do so.

On Friday, January 4th, 1850, Mustafah Senid was one of the visitors who he received.

Immediately upon entering, he said, "Ab-Dul, my Sultan. I have a plan."

"So the Tanzimat reforms I have pushed for, are not enough?"

"You have granted the Ottoman people more civil liberties and equality with one another, that we could ever dream for. However, I believe something more radical is needed to save this Empire."

"Carry on..."

"Well, I won't tell you the plan. Abdulmecid, I have received a book
, written by a quite brilliant German philosopher. It has been translated into Turkish from German. This book, in fact, was not supposed to be published yet. This is the only existing copy in the world."

"How did you --"

"Just take it."

Mustafah handed the book to the Sultan. Abdulmecid immediately grabbed the edge of the book and opened it.

"I believe the book speaks for itself. Goodbye, my Sultan. May Allah be with you."

Mustafah Senid left the palace...
 
Sultan Abdulmecid I of the Ottoman Empire knew that his empire would never reach its former glory, unless something was done, no matter the consequences. The empire was stagnating, and had been for some time.

The Ottomans fell behind in technology. The Empire did not have the social structure of the Western European states, which was needed to introduce industrial technology. In any attempt to modernize or reform the Ottoman Empire, powerful military and religious elite would oppose the Sultan.

The Ottomans fell behind in economy. The Ottoman state was planned when the economy was agricultural. Public functions depended on public investments. As the world economy started to form, and economies of other nations evolved, the Ottomans stayed the same. Inns, hospitals, libraries... Lastly, Ottoman trade was lackluster. The Europeans didn't need to trade through the Ottomans with the East ever since the revolution in European shipping which started in the 16th century and had been ongoing.

The Ottomans fell behind in administration and politics. The second most powerful man in the Empire was the Grand Vizier. During turbulent times, Sultans would sacrifice their Grand Viziers to prevent civil war or coups. As one might imagine, this did not help stability at all. In addition, the Ulema was a very powerful faction in the government. The Ulema was a powerful religious elite, and if the Ulema was displeased with the Sultan, the Sultan would be overthrown. Lastly, the entire Ottoman Empire was based around the Sultan... and the Sultan rarely left his palace.

The Ottomans fell behind in military. The area that had always needed the most development was the military. Most Sultans realized this. The Janissaries however were the most averse group to change, and they were the most powerful group in the empire, until Mahmud II abolished them. Other problems existed however. To modernize the army, outsiders needed to be brought in. They were, but they were regarded with suspicion by the Empire's elite.

Lastly, as we all know, Greece split off from the Ottoman Empire in 1821, after a nasty war.

Abdulmecid would reform the empire, despite any opposition he would get. He knew that he would cause great turmoil. Perhaps a civil war. Perhaps the Ulema would try to overthrow his rule. But he would resist the traditionalists, and transform the Ottoman Empire into one of the greatest empires on earth...


...But it wouldn't be an empire...

The period you're describing was not one of stagnation but very rapid progress in all the fields you mention, with a broad-based consensus of the elite, including the military and ulema (religious scholars) that reform and progress were necessary. There was debate over the nature of reform, but everyone supported it. Trade in particular expanded faster during Abdulmecid's reign than the world average.
 
A Communist Ottoman Empire...I've seen worse, but this strikes me as being near ASB, if not in actuality.
 
The period you're describing was not one of stagnation but very rapid progress in all the fields you mention, with a broad-based consensus of the elite, including the military and ulema (religious scholars) that reform and progress were necessary. There was debate over the nature of reform, but everyone supported it. Trade in particular expanded faster during Abdulmecid's reign than the world average.
I was talking about the time before Abdulmecid.

I guess to make it clear, I'll mention that Abdulmecid's Tanzimat reforms had changed stagnation to progress. But Ottoman was still the 'sick man of Europe'.

Douglas said:
A Communist Ottoman Empire...I've seen worse, but this strikes me as being near ASB, if not in actuality.

I was thinking about putting it in the ASB forum but thought it would fit better here because it is near ASB, not actually ASB, and also because timelines in the ASB forum are about ISOTs and continents appearing out of nowhere.
 

Keenir

Banned
I guess to make it clear, I'll mention that Abdulmecid's Tanzimat reforms had changed stagnation to progress. But Ottoman was still the 'sick man of Europe'.

that was a term coined by a Russian Tsar to hide the fact that Russia was doing worse than the Ottomans.
 

Keenir

Banned
Without knowing it Xwarq manages to divide by zero and destroys the Universe.:p

let's see if he manages to accomplish a Marxist Ottoman Empire. (we've seen things that're far less plausible here - remember my American states of Morocco and the Berbers?)

I look forward to how the Ottomans fare under Marxism.
 
Sultan Abdulmecid decided, why not read the book? If these ideas got published, they must be good enough. Plus, Abdul loved literature.

The book... Manifesto Komünist Partisi was its name. The introduction introduced the Communist League, Abdul skimmed over this part and then read the book itself.

The preamble called Communism a spectre and an enemy. Strange. The Sultan then read, and actually agreed with the Bourgeois and Proletarians section, despite being the most powerful man in a large empire, perhaps the pinnacle of bourgeoisie. His Tanzimat reforms were not only to make the Ottoman Empire more powerful, but to introduce more liberty and equality to the Ottoman peoples.

He continued reading and then one part really stuck out, the 10 points of Communism.

  1. Abolition of property in land and of all rents of land to public purposes.
  2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
  3. Abolition of all right of inheritance.
  4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
  5. Centralisation of credit in the hands of the State, by means of a national bank with State capital and an exclusive monopoly.
  6. Centralisation of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the State.
  7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the State; the bringing into cultivation of waste-lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
  8. Equal liability of all to labour. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
  9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of the distinction between town and country, by a more equitable distribution of the population over the country.
  10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children's factory labour in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production.
His thoughts were that, The State, essentially him, would control everything in the country, while the majority of the Ottoman people would be equal with one another. The Sultan would be powerful and the people would be happy. And most importantly, there would be no opposing elite factions

And, with the elite that always opposed him gone, Abdulmecid could finally start industrializing the Ottoman Empire. With such an idea as communism, he could rally the people, as well as his high-up supporters, to defeat the Ulema and the military elite. Even if it took a civil war to do it.

"Workers of the world, unite!"
 
Abdulmecid's Tanzimat reforms had improved the Ottoman empire greatly. So far, these are the changes he made:

  • Ottoman subjects were guaranteed security of life, honor, and property
  • introduce standardized Ottoman banknotes, made of paper (1840)
  • reorganize the army so that there is a regular method of recruiting and levying, and a regular duration of military service(1843–44)
  • introduce official anthem and flag for the Ottoman nation (1844)
  • reorganize finances to mimic the French model, and reorganize civil and criminal code according to the French model
  • establishment of the Meclis−i Maarif−i Umumiye (1845), a prototype parliament
  • introduce a public instruction council (1846)
  • establish modern universities and academies (1848)
Obviously he was a Sultan of reform. He changed stagnation to progress, but over many years, for stability, and maybe to please the elites (if he did it too fast, perhaps the ulema would abolish his rule). But he knew that communism could never please the majority of the opposing elite, except for a few military elite who would remain generals loyal to him, and some of the religious elite who may align with him.

He planned several more reforms. He knew they would upset the elite. He knew he would cause a civil war or at least a rebellion. But communism is exactly what he believed the Ottomans needed, and he couldn't push it slowly. The Ottoman Empire would become the Ottoman Turkish Socialist State, and there was no stopping him.

All of these reforms were based on the Communist Manifesto.

  • all property (which most of it was already publicly invested) would become property of the state
  • progressive tax
  • abolition of right of inheritance, except in the case of the Sultan
  • establishment of an Ottoman national bank
  • centralize communication and transport in Istanbul, by the State's hands
  • begin building factories (these factories would be under state control)
  • use the new industrial manufacturing hand in hand with agriculture
  • all Ottomans would be equal
  • establish free education in public schools
 
So you're planning on doing a time-line with a Communist Ottoman Empire? Seems kind of unlikely for me but it is sort of original so consider me someone who is more than interested at reading this!
 
Sounds interesting, but, in case you didn't yet understand why communism didn't work:

o Real people need property to work well. Even cats and dogs have ideas of property that they mark.

o Marx believed the way to level class barriers was to put the entire country into one big bureaucracy. That's self-contradictory, though, because now the entire country'in one big common hierarchy, which is worse than capitalism's many separate hierarchies.

o Marx thought giving men little incentive to work was the way to maximize production. That led to starvation in most communist states

o We don't have the technology to plan country-size economies in Marx'-style - at least, not if we want to make shoes as well as tanks and airplanes.

Also, governmental checks and balances are important if a state is to be healthy. Our Communist states have them. Ottomans' health was surely in big part because of them.


Good luck!
 
Should he implement those reforms and wait for the elite (which are now just ordinary people after the reforms) to oppose him, all the while gaining support of the people?

Or should he gain the support of the people, then start the revolution, once he wins, establish the reforms?
 
Before you say this is corny and unlikely... Really, has a pre-communist, 19th-century leader ever tried to unite with the people against the elite, instead of the people and/or the elite uniting against the leader and/or the elite? Not that I know of. So there's no good OTL situations to model this off of.

Friday, January 11th.

Mustafah Senid walks into Abdulmecid's main room of his palace, holding a large crate. Forty other people, some other Turks, some Europeans, stand, some outside by the door, or inside the reception room.

"What is this?"

"Before I tell you: did you read the book?"

"Yes, in fact I did read the book. The Communist Manifesto will change the world."

"Good, good... Anyway, my Sultan, let's just say that these are... fuel for the revolution."

"What do you mean by that?"

Mustafah Senid set down one of the crates and opened it. The others also set them down, tired of carrying them. It was full of rifles, some breech-loading type from the German region.

"A book which hasn't been published... hundreds of rifles... How do you--"

"shh-shh. That doesn't matter. What does matter is the Revolution."

"You are going to answer me at some point."

"Maybe."

"Anyway, since you have everything planned out already--?"

"First, for the people, I and my associates will lithograph this print. We will post many, many, many of them across the Empire."

Mustafah showed Abdulmecid a print. It said in large letters, 'The Elites shall oppress no more! Unite with your Leader and create a new Ottoman state! Workers unite, Freedom has approached. THE NEW TANZIMAT REFORMS.' In small text surrounding that it said 'The powers of Christian Europe look down upon us, except for our allies. The Ottoman Empire is no longer the most powerful. We Ottomans must establish an Ottoman Turkish Socialist State, and bring freedom, equality, and strength, to the Ottoman people'. Lastly it had small portraits of Abdulmecid and Mustafah.

"Excellent. But how will they know what socialim is?"

"After that, we will hold the Özgürlük Konferanslar. These Freedom Conferences will be open to all common people. We will educate them about the new Reforms and Socialist Government planned."

"What about the elites? They're not going to be completely ignorant about this."

"Either they'll start a civil war, or they'll back down. The former probably most likely. But all you need to do, is stay in your palace, I've hired many mercenaries, plus I bet the people will rally for this cause. Or if you choose so, you may command the army."

"Mercenaries now? How do you get all this stuff, why are you so powerful, and where do you come from?"

"Farewell. May Allah be with you, my Sultan."
 
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